


Counting Down the Days

by thatforgottenbasilisk



Series: Cleaning My Tumblr [4]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Akuma (Miraculous Ladybug), Alternate Universe - No Miraculous, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, F/M, Not Beta Read, Soulmate-Identifying Timers, Suicide, Suicide mention, but also sadness, lots of fluff, no beta we die like men, suicide TW
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-09
Updated: 2019-12-10
Packaged: 2021-01-25 23:35:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 13
Words: 6,144
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21364510
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatforgottenbasilisk/pseuds/thatforgottenbasilisk
Summary: a soulmates au >:)))))
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Series: Cleaning My Tumblr [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1540171
Comments: 41
Kudos: 168





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: AU does not belong to me (idk the original source sorry), and neither does Miraculous Ladybug

_Marinette Dupain-Cheng: 34,812 Days_

It’s been drilled into the minds of everyone, in every country, of every age, that only your soulmate can see the number on your wrist. That number then corresponds to when you die. If someone’s number is 3, for example, then they’ll die in 3 days. 

You can find your soulmate by looking for someone with writing on _their_ wrist. It’s how Ivan and Myléne found each other, and how Nino and Alya eventually did as well.

The reason it took Marinette and Adrien this long to find each other was a very simple one: Gabriel Agreste.

You see, Dear Old Dad believed that it was wise to force his son to wear long sleeves, or at least a covering on each wrist, every single time he even thought about leaving the house. His supposed reasoning was twofold: gold digging fangirls (and/or fanboys) could not pretend to see Adrien’s number if it was always covered, and Adrien could focus on his studies if he was not bothered by looking for numbers.

Adrien knew about the numbers, yes, but only because his mother told him about them. So when his classmate Marinette had both of her wrists showing, and he saw a glowing number on one, he immediately knew what was happening. They had just snuck into the movie theater that was playing his mother’s movie, and had actually gotten the chance to calm down and pay attention, when he spotted them. He decided not to say anything to her, because they had just put so much effort into sneaking around, he shouldn’t start talking now. Unfortunately, a few minutes later his bodyguard showed up and brought him home.

The next day was, thankfully, a Monday, meaning that he’d get to see his soulmate (he had a soulmate!) again before school, so that he could tell her.

She had actually come to school early for once, which was incredibly fortunate on its own, and then she agreed to talk to him in private.

“So, Mari, I know this might be a bit sudden, but I saw your wrist yesterday, and I think we might be soulmates?”

He waited for a response, but Marinette was not saying anything remotely intelligible at the moment. He gently waved his hand in front of her face, and said, softly, “Mari?”

She was then startled out of her reverie, and then she proceeded to almost trip on thin air, even though they were stationary. Had he always thought that it was cute when she did that?

Adrien didn’t laugh at her misfortune, but he couldn’t help but crack a smile at her. She asked, “A-Are you sure? Because that theater was kinda dark, and it could’ve been someone’s phone, or maybe I left my phone on by accident, or I-”

“Marinette, I definitely saw numbers. I’m not going to try to dictate your feelings, but I would like to say that I am proud to be your soulmate.”

Marinette then said something that sounded a lot like “Pinch me,” but he couldn’t quite be sure. He asked, “Mari? Are you okay? D-Do you want me to be your soulmate? Because I can pretend this didn’t happen, if you don’t want things to be awkward…”

“No! I want things to be awkward! No, wait! I mean! I-I’m really happy that we’re soulmates, Adrien.” She was grinning like a maniac, so Adrien decided that she was either lying and really bad at it, or that “really happy” was putting her feelings lightly. Since Marinette had had a long track record of despising liars, Adrien went with the latter option.

“So…Do you want to know your numbers?”

Marinette seemed to struggle with a long internal debate at this point, before finally deciding that, yes, she did want to see her numbers.

Adrien gently held her wrist so that he could see what was written on them, and then whipped out his phone to convert the amount into years.

“Wow, Mari, you’ve got almost 95 and a half years!”

“Wow! Here’s hoping they’ll all be fun, haha!”

“Can you tell me mine?”

Adrien looked to be almost pleading then, as though if Marinette refused, he’d drop dead on the spot, dying tragically of curiosity.

He held up his wrist, and waited for her to pull up the sleeve. After what seemed like an eternity, he slowly felt the sleeve being pulled up by her soft hands.

“W-Woah! I’m gonna need my calculator, give me a second.”

She then shakily took out her phone, and proceeded to plug some numbers into it.

“Hey, y-you’ve got about 93 years!”

“I hope to spend all of them with you, Princess.”

She blushed and smiled at the nickname. His new goal in life was to make her blush like that as much as he possibly could. She then kissed him on the cheek, and said, “Come on, Alya and Nino are probably here by now.”

Adrien looked into her misty eyes (wow, she really must’ve been happy to have a soulmate!) and smiled; he knew he had a long, good life ahead of him.

_Adrien Agreste: 14 Days_


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> may i offer you some fluff in these trying times

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the short chapter the next one will be longer

_Marinette Dupain-Cheng: 34,809 Days_

Today is Thursday, and Adrien had never had a better week. He’d found his soulmate, he found out that he would live for a very long time, and honestly everything was working in his favor.

Over the course of the week, he and Marinette had gone on multiple lunch dates, each to different and new places. On Monday, they went to the zoo with Nino and Alya, who were both ecstatic that they had found each other. Alya revealed that Marinette had had a giant crush on him long before she found out he was her soulmate, which just made everything that much better. Marinette was somewhat less than pleased that Alya had enlightened him on this apparently sensitive topic, but Adrien made sure to tell her that he thought it was absolutely adorable. She didn’t stop smiling until school had ended. 

On Tuesday, Adrien had had a photo shoot in the park, so Marinette tagged along and brought some quiche from the bakery. Marinette talked fashion with a few of the people that were there, and Adrien watched her excitedly talk about colors and fabrics with some of the experts. The photographer said that it was the best shoot that either of them (Adrien and the photographer) had ever had.

On Wednesday, Alya found out where Andre’s cart was, so everyone had ice cream. Alya and Nino shared a cone of lemon and lime, while Adrien and Marinette shared some classic chocolate and vanilla. Andre’s cart happened to be near the Louvre and after their ice cream, they saw Alix having lunch with her brother. They (Main 4 + Alix) looked around at the newest exhibit, and then all went back to school.

Today was an early premier of a new American movie, so Adrien and Marinette went to see it during lunch. It had been sold out for a while, but Nathalie had managed to pull a few strings. Both of them enjoyed the movie immensely, and bemoaned the fact that they’d had to look at the subtitles for most of it. Adrien knew quite a bit of English, however, everyone in the movie had spoken far too quickly for him to understand more than a word or two at a time. He and Marinette held hands on the way back to school.

Adrien hopes that every week will be like this one.

_Adrien Agreste: 11 days_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> for those of you upset with me for changing the flavor combinations, i have two reasons for doing so:  
1: Andre needs to grow some taste buds because his flavor combinations are DISGUSTANG  
2: i forgot what the canon flavor combos are and i dont wanna look it up ya feel
> 
> also  
Alya is Lemon  
Nino is Lime  
Adrien is Vanilla  
Marinette is Chocolate  
and if you dont like the lemon/lime combo and think it's too sour or something, you can fight me. i can and will defend the honor of all citrus-flavored ice cream with my life.
> 
> also also  
the comment about Adrien knowing English but everyone talks way too freaking fast??? that's me but with French


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> have some literal fluff in these trying times

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i was planning on having this be the Angst Chapter, but that'll be next time.

_Marinette Dupain-Cheng: 34,808 Days_

Adrien wasn’t stupid. He noticed the odd glances and longer-than-strictly-normal hugs, first from Marinette, then from Alya and Nino.

He didn’t know what it meant, though. At first he suspected that Marinette may have told him the wrong numbers, but that was soon dismissed with the arrival of a new girl, Lila Rossi. Lila and Mari might have gotten along like peanut butter and jelly - if any of the words coming out of Lila’s mouth were true. Clearly, Marinette absolutely despised liars, and Adrien ended up feeling bad for thinking that she would do something that she was so clearly opposed to.

His next theory was that they were planning some kind of surprise. This was also dismissed, on account of the fact that Nino can’t keep a secret to save his life. This fact was discovered in a rather unfortunate fashion: once, he told Nino _in confidence_ that his father had once forced him to bleach his hair, and the next day Rose asked him what product he used when his hair was bleached.

So he was back at square one. Adrien had no idea why his friends were behaving this way. He supposed that it didn’t matter; he’d find out eventually.

Today's Friday, and Adrien knows exactly where to take Mari after school. A pet shelter that he volunteers at regularly (”It’ll help the company image, now that you’re attending classes” - Gabriel Agreste, 2015) has some animals that Mari is sure to love.

At the shelter, Adrien shows Marinette “his” cat (Father won’t let him adopt a cat, but everyone at the shelter agrees that it’s his. nobody can adopt him or anything, and Adrien swears that he’ll adopt him when he moves out) named Plagg. Plagg is a fat and lazy black cat that stinks of cheese, because he always steals it and has cheese breath when he cleans himself. Plagg warms up to Mari immediately, leading to Adrien sadly sulking off and giving meaningful looks to Plagg the Traitor Cat and Mari the Traitor Soulmate.

Adrien’s sulking leads him to Tikki, an excitable Pomeranian that immediately begins to follow him back to Mari.

Plagg jumps back into Adrien’s arms, and Tikki bounds up to Marinette and instantly begins to lick her face.

After the shelter, they go and have dinner at a nearby cafe. Adrien orders quiche, and afterwards resolves to never get quiche from anywhere but Tom & Sabine’s, because they have ruined all quiche for him. When he tells this to Marinette, she laughs loudly and calls him a dork. He doesn’t understand what’s so funny about the absolute unequivocal truth, but he laughs with her.

When he drops her off at her house, he leaves her with a light kiss at the door. She blushes hard and manages to spit out some semblance of a goodbye.

Today was a good day.

_Adrien Agreste: 10 Days_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> next update will be November 15, 2019


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> :) here's the angst. suffer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ik i said the update would be friday but inspiration hit and i had to go with it

_Marinette Dupain-Cheng: 34,805 Days_

Adrien came to school early today, even though it was a Monday. He hoped to surprise Marinette with a gift from London: a necklace with a small pendant in the shape of a ladybug, and it was studded with rubies. It had cost him a small fortune, but nothing was too expensive for his princess.

He decided to surprise her at her locker, where she’d be right when she got to school.

Adrien walked down the hallway to where he knew Marinette’s locker to be, when he heard crying coming from the girl’s bathroom.

His first instinct was to help, so he quickly walked over to the door, and raised his hand to knock, to ask if whoever it was was okay, at the least.

Then he heard the voice of exactly who was crying. He froze.

“Oh, A-Alya, I just feel s-so bad for l-lying to him! I just...I can’t let h-h-him know!”

Marinette continued sobbing with renewed vigor, while he heard Alya murmuring words of what he assumed to be comfort.

“Oh, girl, I know. I know.”

“I-It’s just...he only has a week from t-today and...Alya, what do I do? Should I tell him? O-Or n-not?”

Marinette was clearly trying to hold her tears back, in order to be able to properly hear Alya’s response.

“Girl, I don’t know. I think that the best advice would be to listen to your own instincts. You know him the best. Do you think that he’d want to know that his days are numbered?”

Marinette burst into new tears. She managed to stutter out, 

“I...don’t t-think he w-would. A-Adrien, if he had the c-choice, w-would rather live i-in the d-dark, a-and I d-don’t think i-it would be r-right to f-force that on him.”

Then Adrien realized that his hand was still frozen in front of the door. Numbly, he let it drop. His whole world had just been turned upside down.

Distantly, he heard Marinette still crying. Why was it getting fainter?

Adrien hadn’t even realized that he was running. He got to his classroom, which was mercifully empty. He bolted in and crashed into his seat.

Adrien wasn’t stupid. He knew full well that they were talking about him, but he didn’t want to believe it until he was forced to.

One week. He only had one week from today. Next Monday would be the day that he died. He thought about how the date would look on his headstone.

Would he have a good funeral? Of course he would. It would be the best funeral that money could buy. He’d probably end up in the most comfortable casket known to man. Only the best for Gabriel Agreste’s son.

How would it happen? Would he be mugged? Hit by a car? Dropped from the Eiffel tower? Somehow end up in a magical alternate reality just in time to be frozen in time with the mere touch of the hand of some superpowered villain?

What would happen to everyone? Father would be right back to where he was when Mother died. Father had been practically catatonic then, only leaving his office to eat once every few days. And that had been when he knew when it would happen. Next week, Father will have no one. He’ll be alone. 

Nino would be forced to sit in the same seat, constantly next to the empty reminder of Adrien’s permanent absence. There would be no one for him to test out his newest beats on, no one for him to make up increasingly difficult and convoluted secret handshakes with, no one to tutor him in physics using increasingly specific references, and no one to ask for relationship advice with Alya.

And Marinette. Poor Marinette. She was being forced to watch him act like nothing was wrong, when she knew full well that he was doomed. Marinette would never have a perfect life with a soulmate. She would never achieve the perfect family of her dreams. Instead, she would be forced to look ahead at where her soulmate _should_ be, but instead was sleeping six feet under.

Marinette would lose that smile she had just for him, the special stutter she carried with him. The spark in her eyes would dim, her saturated walls and clothes and _everything_ would turn to greyscale, and she would never get her perfect and colorful future.

Adrien wiped his eyes. He hadn’t even realized that he was crying.

Adrien knew one thing: He sure as hell wasn’t letting Mari know that he knew. And he’d have the best week of his _life_.

That would start with giving his princess the most beautiful necklace that he’d ever seen. He knew that its beauty would magnify simply by being in Marinette’s presence.

_Adrien Agreste: 7 Days_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i kept calling this chapter the Problem Child bc it's the angsty one


	5. Chapter 5

_Marinette Dupain-Cheng: 34,805 Days_

Adrien sat up. He had sat deep in thought for too long. People were going to start trickling into the classroom soon, and he didn’t need that.

He wiped his eyes.

Adrien stood up and walked out of the classroom. In his hand he clutched the box containing Marinette’s necklace, almost like a lifeline.

Marinette had evidently cleaned herself up as well, as she was cheerily walking in the hallway with Alya.

“Princess!”

Marinette suddenly jumped a bit, and snapped her head towards Adrien, who was running towards her, having put the necklace inside of the inner pocket of his overshirt.

“I got you something.”

He took the small box out of his pocket.

She opened it and _squealed_.

“Adrien! Oh my god, you really didn’t have to do this, wow! It’s so beautiful!”

She was grinning from ear to ear. In her hands she held the ladybug necklace, which she put on.

“It only looks more beautiful now that it shares space with your perfection, Princess.”

Marinette blushed hard and smiled even harder. She threw her arms around him and kissed him full on the lips.

He smiled into the kiss, which was the most wonderful and passionate kiss they’d shared yet.

They broke apart after a bit, and then Marinette dropped the fatal words;

“I love you, Adrien!”

Adrien was on cloud nine. He thought that he was probably grinning like an idiot, but he was too happy to care. Marinette loves him!

“I love you too, Marinette.”

Both of them gazed into each other’s eyes for what felt like an eternity, until they heard Alya’s footsteps echoing away.

Today would be the best Monday that Adrien would ever have.

_Adrien Agreste: 7 Days_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chapters 6 and 7 gonna drop over the weekend if we're lucky
> 
> if we're not lucky it'll just be chapter 6 probably


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a lil bit of angst

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this one is short but i think you'll find it has some nice angst

_Marinette Dupain-Cheng: 34,804 Days_

Adrien and his father had a..._tense_ relationship, to put it lightly. Father seemed to view Adrien as nothing more than a particularly good asset for his brand, nothing more. Not a son. Just a tool.

Adrien, however, was a rational human being who kind of needed at least one parent because he was also a child, damn it. His mother had been that parent who picked up the slack for his father, but she was gone.

Therefore, these two naturally opposed each other. One wanted strict obedience, and the other just wanted a hug every once in a while maybe but apparently that’s too much to ask, huh? 

Today was an example of the kinds of conflict that they could get into. Father had found out about Adrien’s soulmate. He was immediately banned from seeing her. Ever.

Obviously, Adrien was against this. It had quickly devolved into a shouting match. Some regrettable things were said. Adrien did not back down, however:

“Why can’t I see her? She actually cares about me, unlike you!”

This seemed to be the killing blow. Adrien’s resentment towards his father had only grown since he actually got some real friends and a somewhat decent support network, and had learned exactly what he had been missing for the first 13 years of his life, most of which he still had to miss due to his father’s schedules or inane rules. But this was the straw that broke the camel’s back.

Father did not seem to know how to respond. Finally, he managed a semblance of a response:

“I raised you! I protected you from every evil outside and this is how you thank me?”

“You didn’t raise me, Mother did!”

“Don’t you dare bring your mother into this!”

The subject of his mother was subsequently brought into the argument. It ended with Adrien being sent to his room, unrepentant. He was going to see Marinette for the rest of his life. He had to. He would give her every happy memory with her soulmate that he possibly could within this short timeframe. If he wasted it? He would be beating himself up in whatever afterlife was there.

_Adrien Agreste: 6 Days_


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's been a while lol

_Marinette Dupain-Cheng: 34,803 Days_

The next morning, Nathalie woke Adrien up, as usual.

He sat in a somewhat saddened slump due to his father’s uncanny ability to screw up anything that was going well in his life at any given point in time. This was not exactly unusual.

When Nathalie walked into the room to find Adrien still in his pajamas and dejectedly staring at his blankets, she sat next to him and petted his head in an attempt to comfort him. This was supremely unusual. Adrien was not opposed to this new development.

“Your father does care about you, Adrien. He just shows it in ways that you may not be receptive to.”

Nathalie stood and reminded him that he really should get dressed soon. She left, but not before offering him a small smile.

\---------------------

At lunch that day, Adrien told Marinette about the fight with his father, and why exactly it occurred.

In hindsight, this may not have been the best idea, because she immediately began on an anxious spiral of thoughts involving being blacklisted from the fashion industry and maybe even being thrown out of Paris before Adrien stopped her. He placed a finger to her lips and said, softly,

“Hey. It’s gonna be okay. I’m still here with you, right? He can’t get me away from you even if he got every army in the world to try.”

She giggled a bit, and gently grabbed his hand and pulled it down and away from her mouth.

"We’re a package deal, huh?”

“Yup! Just you and me against the world.”

_Adrien Agreste: 5 Days_


	8. Chapter 8

_Marinette Dupain-Cheng: 34,802 Days_

Today was spent with everyone in the class (except Lila. He didn’t need to waste his time like that).

In the morning, he provided some puns for Marc and Nathaniel’s comic. Apparently he would make a good Chat Noir (he was the male lead in the comic), because he had puns for days.

He refereed an arm wrestling contest between Kim and Alix just before class. Currently, they’ve each won two apiece.

He texted Chloe and Sabrina during class. Mostly he sent old inside jokes (Chloe almost got sent out for laughing too hard when he sent the word “duck” with no context).

He spent lunch with Rose and Juleka. Rose did most of the talking, but Juleka chimed in every once in a while.

During physics, he and Max ended up somehow starting a debate. It took up most of class, but everyone had fun and much was learned.

Their last teacher of the day allowed the class to work on any kind of art project that they wanted, and Mylène and Ivan were making a short film. Mylène mostly wanted another shot at acting after the disaster that was the last short film that the class had attempted, but Adrien cheered her on. He also helped do camerawork with Ivan.

After school, he hung out with Nino, Alya, and Marinette. He helped Alya play keep-away with Nino’s bubbles, and then the soap got spilled all over his jacket. There was silence for a moment when it happened, and then someone began to laugh. Suddenly, they were all collapsing on each other in laughter.

Adrien walked Mari home after that. He kissed both her hands as she went inside.

Today was good.

_Adrien Agreste: 4 Days_


	9. Chapter 9

_Marinette Dupain-Cheng: 34,801 Days_

Friday. Adrien tried not to think about the fact that it was his last day of school. It didn’t really work.

He made sure to wish all of his teachers well.

All through lunch, he held Marinette’s hand while both of them were having some kind of wild conversation with Alya and Nino. Everyone forgot what it was about by the time the next class rolled around. Except for Adrien. He memorized every word.

He made sure to engrave every tiny action made by his classmates into his brain. He would probably never see most of them again.

He gave special goodbyes to all of his classmates. They all said goodbye as well. Most of them said they’d see him Monday. He didn’t correct them.

Adrien walked Mari home. They walked hand in hand. Neither was really up for talking.

He kissed her hand when he dropped her off. She giggled and blushed.

All in all, it wasn’t a bad ending.

_Adrien Agreste: 3 Days_


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> yeah ik carnivals/fairs are more american than french (idk if france even has them) but shhhhh

_Marinette Dupain-Cheng: 34,800 Days_

Saturday. Adrien was allowed out today, and he figured that he would probably be cooped up tomorrow. Especially considering the fact that he was able to talk his way out of being under constant surveillance, just for today.

The carnival was in town, and Adrien had two tickets for himself and a certain princess.

They arrived just as the carnival opened. The booths were stocked with fresh new prizes and the smell of fried food was in the air. It was glorious.

They started with some games; breakfast was just a few minutes before. The ring toss, Marinette won with ease; a small teddy bear was now hers.

The dart throw, however, Adrien _owned_. He won a gigantic teddy bear that was about as big as Marinette. Of course, the bear belonged to Marinette because he was a _gentleman_ who won it for her.

The ladder climb was a fair bit more difficult. Adrien fell off at the second rung, but Marinette made it almost to the top. She played again, while Adrien was her personal cheerleader. She won a large stuffed panda bear.

Neither teen had accounted for where their prizes would be stored when they went on rides. And _man_, were there a lot of rides. Thankfully, the carnival people had large lockers specifically for this purpose.

There was a very large roller coaster right in the middle of the fair. The hour-long wait did not scare our heroes; they waited in line while making goofy faces at each other and/or teasing Nino and Alya via text, because they were heathens who did not come.

The roller coaster was awesome. Adrien and Marinette sat next to each other, and their picture was great and very not embarrassing for Adrien. He looked very model-like. Very distinguished and stuff. Definitely.

After the Coaster of Glory and Bad Pictures, Mari and Adrien decided to ram each other with bumper cars. And then they rammed other people with bumper cars together. 

Then there was the eating contest. No official contest or anything, just Marinette and Adrien buying way too many hot dogs. And challenging each other to eat more. And somehow drawing a crowd.

So they were stuffed after that, and the sun was beginning to go down. Obviously the best course of action was to buy every single deep-fried candy bar that they came across. And then some cotton candy.

Adrien and Marinette were both absolutely stuffed with unhealthy food and it was getting dark, so they picked up Marinette’s prizes and each said goodbye. They went to their separate homes. Adrien gave Mari a soft kiss goodnight. It was lovely.

\----------

Adrien got home just before curfew. He went to his room and flopped onto his bed.

He screamed into his pillow. He cried. It was probably the biggest display of emotion that he’d ever had. He cried harder.

Why would Marinette, his perfect princess, be left alone? Why would she never get a _real_ soulmate, that she could build a life with?

She didn’t deserve it! She didn’t deserve this... this _torture!_ She didn’t deserve to suffer like this! It wasn’t right!

Marinette was perfect, and yet the Universe rewarded her with what? Nothing! Instead it decided to give her a tiny taste of a future, hope, true companionship, only to rip it away!

_It wasn’t fair! It wasn’t just! What kind of sick, cruel world would destroy the pure happiness that she held in her heart?_

Why couldn’t she get someone else for a soulmate? Someone who could give her a future?

Why did she have to be stuck with a boy who was doomed to never grow up?

_Adrien Agreste: 2 Days_


	11. Chapter 11

_Marinette Dupain-Cheng: 34,799 Days_

Sunday. Adrien was stuck in his room, as he predicted.

Father called Adrien into his office at noon. Apparently he would spend most of the day tomorrow on a train headed to Barcelona.

Would he die on the train? Adrien assumed so, because tomorrow he was going to die and most of tomorrow would be spent on the train. He knew enough about statistics to figure out the odds.

Would it be long and drawn-out or quick and painless?

Would it be early in the day or late at night?

Would he be able to talk to Father?

Would Father blame himself?

Would Marinette be okay?

How would it happen?

He only had one day to live, and yet it was spent cooped up in his room “practicing piano,” when he was really texting Marinette whenever Nathalie wasn’t in the room. Pathetic.

His life really was a waste, huh? All he ever did was pose for pictures. Anyone could do that. He made no real impact on the world, really.

That wasn’t true, actually. He made Marinette happy.

Honestly? That may be the only worthwhile thing _to_ do.

Maybe his life wasn’t a waste.

_Adrien Agreste: 1 Day_


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> this is it. this is the one. buckle up

_Marinette Dupain-Cheng: 34,798 Days_

Walking onto the train was a blur. Adrien knew that he would die on that train.

Nathalie sat down next to him, her posture akin to that of a statue. Just like always.

She alternated between messaging his father and checking charts and graphs. Just like always.

Adrien spent five hours messaging everyone he could think of: his fans, his friends, his father, Marinette, and just anyone that he had even the remotest connection to. He spent the most time talking to Mari. Father never responded.

He was plugging his phone into the USB port beneath his seat when he felt it. The train was decelerating. It was decelerating _very quickly_.

He felt, and then heard, the screech of the train coming to an abrupt and unexpected stop. 

This would be how he died. Adrien was sure of it.

He heard loud banging noises from the front of the train, what sounded like a scuffle, and then silence.

The door between the conductor’s area and the first cabin slowly creaked open. 

An emaciated-looking, tall man in a balaclava stepped into the cabin. He shakily pointed his pistol at Adrien, then squeaked,

“Give me all your money.”

Adrien gave the man all of the cash that he had on him, only 500 euros. Nathalie complied as well.

The man was still pointing his gun at Adrien.

“Stand up. We’re taking you as hostage.”

Adrien stood. The man placed a gun against Adrien’s head. He heard the sirens of police officers speeding towards the train, then. He heard the blades of the helicopter hovering over the train. An ear-splitting megaphone squeal, and

“Give up the kid. We’ve got you surrounded.”

The man began to visibly panic. He began to scream up to whoever was up front, only the conductor’s area was empty. The man had either been set up, or was the only one dumb enough to stay when the sirens were close enough to hear.

The man slowly raised his hands. He did not drop the gun.

“Drop the weapon,” sharply cut out from the static-filled megaphone.

The man looked as though he were about to place the gun on the ground, and then he made a sudden movement.

Adrien saw it in slow-motion. He saw the man jab his hand towards him, heard his scream about justice for the 99%, saw him pull the trigger, and watched the bullet embed itself into his abdomen.

Adrien was knocked off of his feet. He fell to the floor, while the man dropped the gun. Police officers ran onto the train and restrained the man, and dragged him out into a waiting squad car.

Still more officers swarmed the cabin, many surrounding Adrien, attempting to somehow staunch the flow of blood. He knew it was useless.

“N-Nathalie,” he coughed, “p-please...make sure father takes care of himself? And...it’s not his fault. Tell him that. Please.”

Nathalie nodded. Her eyes were full of tears, and she was shaking like a leaf. She nearly whispered, 

“I will. I promise, Adrien.”

He grabbed his phone. His vision was beginning to darken at the edges. Damn, so much for a quick and painless death.

The phone was slick in his grasp, covered in crimson blood. He quickly tapped on the contact he knew so well, and held the phone up to his ear.

She picked up. He knew she would. He could taste blood now.

“H-Hey princess. I know what’s going to happen, and I want you to know that I’m o-okay with it. I want you to live your life without me, and live it happily. C-Can you do that, Mari?”

Marinette took a shaky breath on the other end.

“I’ll do my best, Adrien. Nobody can ever replace you, you know that? And just...you’re just so special to me. You’re the most incredible person that I’ve ever had the fortune of meeting. Promise me one thing?”

“Anything.”

“Wait for me on the other side?”

“I would never leave you. I’ll be waiting for you to come join me. I love you, Marinette.”

“I love you too, Adrien.”

He hung up. His phone slid out of his weak and slippery grasp. His hand joined it on the floor.

The blurry paramedics were attempting to load him onto a stretcher. It hurt.

Everything hurt.

Everything hurts so much.

His vision darkened completely. The wound was like fire, pain spreading through his system, burning and twisting and morphing everything into useless remains.

He just wanted it to end. He’d do anything to stop this pain.

He tried to scream, but his voice didn’t work.

He tried to move, but his limbs didn’t work either.

The fiery pain was eating him alive.

Until he couldn’t feel it anymore.

_Adrien Agreste: 0 Days_


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The final chapter!

**TEEN MODEL DIES AT AGE 14 (Daily Journal)**

Popular teen model, Adrien Agreste, son of major fashion mogul Gabriel Agreste, died early this morning on a bullet train headed to Barcelona, Spain, allegedly on his way to a photo shoot. Witnesses say that he was shot during a robbery of said train, and the suspect is in custody. Witness reports also state that Agreste’s final moments were used to call his soulmate, who is unavailable for comment at this time. Gabriel Agreste and his estate are currently unavailable for comment. (more on page 4)

**IN MEMORY OF ADRIEN AGRESTE (Paris Local News)**

Adrien Agreste was absolutely full of life, and his death will be felt throughout Paris. The young model was a brilliant student who helped his other classmates in his spare time, along with many other extracurricular activities. He was dearly beloved by a close group of friends, his family, and I daresay the entirety of Paris. He sparked joy in the hearts of fans and strangers alike; (continued on page 3)

**GABRIEL AGRESTE - RECLUSIVE ONCE AGAIN? (Spilled Tea Magazine)**

Fashion powerhouse Gabriel Agreste lost his wife 3 years ago, and tragedy has struck once again - his son, teen sensation Adrien Agreste, was murdered yesterday in a train robbery. Three years ago, Emilie Agreste died of cancer and her soulmate was completely devastated. He completely shut down his company for a year, only resuming designs after a year of grieving. That was Gabriel Agreste’s reaction when he was aware of when it would happen and could prepare - who knows the fate of the company in light of this? Will Agreste shut down completely once again? Signs are pointing to yes - (more on page 2)

**GABRIEL BRAND ON HIATUS AFTER 2 YEARS OF PRODUCTIVITY (Fashion Central)**

A statement was made by a Gabriel official this afternoon. This announcement was that, in light of yesterday’s tragic events, the Gabriel fashion brand is going on a hiatus of indefinite length. Gabriel Agreste has lost both his wife and son within three short years, and his brand most certainly reflects that... (read more on page 4)

**SUSPECT INVOLVED IN MURDER OF MODEL SENSATION ADRIEN AGRESTE PLEADS GUILTY (News 4 You)**

Three days ago, young Adrien Agreste was brutally murdered on his way to Barcelona. The suspect was caught red-handed, and at noon today he pled guilty to the charges of murder in the first degree, attempted robbery...(more on page 5)

**FIVE DAYS AFTER THE DEATH OF MODEL ADRIEN AGRESTE, HIS FUNERAL IS ATTENDED BY HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS (Paris Local News)**

Thousands of mourners gathered today for the funeral of model Adrien Agreste, who was tragically killed on Monday on his way to Barcelona. Eulogies were delivered by his friends and soulmate, whose name will be abbreviated to MDC, along with many fans giving words as well (cont. on page 9)

**GABRIEL AGRESTE FOUND DEAD IN OFFICE BY ASSISTANT; SUSPECTED SUICIDE (Daily Journal)**

Gabriel Agreste was found hanging in his office early this Monday morning. He was discovered by his assistant, Nathalie Sancoeur, who also found the note upon his desk detailing why he did it. The full note is not in the public domain, but we are at liberty to say that it spoke of the deaths of Agreste’s wife and son. Police do not suspect the involvement of foul play and likely will be ruling it a suicide later in the week. (more on page 3)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this whole fic was a journey, honestly! and now that it’s the end of that journey, be sure to tell me how you felt about it!


End file.
